Category: MIL-OSI

Source: APO – Report:

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The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, met with Ahmed Attaf, Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad of the sisterly People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria. The meeting took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, on the margins of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.  

The two sides discussed the close fraternal relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, as well as ways to further strengthen bilateral cooperation.

The meeting also included an exchange of views on Algeria’s experience during its current membership in the United Nations Security Council and the lessons learned in addressing international issues, particularly those concerning the Arab region. Both parties emphasised the importance of enhancing joint cooperation and coordination in this regard.

In addition, the two ministers discussed the latest regional developments, particularly the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip and its implications for regional security and stability.

The meeting was attended by Ambassador Jamal Fares Al Ruwaihi, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United Nations in New York, and Ambassador Shaikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Khalifa, Director General of Bilateral Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

– on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Source: APO – Report:

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The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, met the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates of the Kingdom of Morocco, with Mr Nasser Bourita at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The meeting took place on the margins of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.  

During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the distinguished historical fraternal relations that bind the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Kingdom of Morocco, characterised by their strength and depth. They also discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation and coordination across various political, economic, and cultural fields, with a view to advancing them.

The two Ministers also exchanged views on the latest regional and international developments, including the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip and the escalating tensions and hostilities. They underscored the importance of continued coordination and consultation between the two countries on matters of mutual concern, in order to contribute to the promotion of security and stability in the region.

The meeting was attended by Ambassador Jamal Fares Al Ruwaihi, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Khaled Youssef Al Jalahma, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs, and Ambassador Shaikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Khalifa, Director General of Bilateral Relations at the Ministry.

– on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Source: APO – Report:

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The decision by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt not to sign a flawed Criminal Procedure Code and to send it back to parliament for revision was a positive move, 20 civil society organizations including Human Rights Watch said today. Parliament should completely revise the draft law to eliminate a series of provisions that raised human rights concerns. The following is the groups’ statement:

We the undersigned Egyptian and international civil society organizations welcome the decision of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to not sign the draft Criminal Procedure Code into law and instead to send it back to parliament for revision. The House of Representatives has since announced that it will convene an urgent session on October 1 on the matter and has invited the Prime Minister to make a statement on the draft law.

In August 2024, Egypt’s House of Representatives began discussing a draft Criminal Procedure Code that, if enacted into law, would have set the country’s criminal justice system back decades. Though some minor changes were made to the text before it was ultimately approved and voted on by the House in April 2025, core human rights concerns within the law remained.

If enacted as currently formulated, the draft law would have significantly expanded prosecutorial powers, including the right to intercept private communications and issue open-ended travel bans and asset freeze orders; expanded the judicial powers of the police; permitted warrantless searches of a person’s home; restricted a defense lawyer’s access to case files and investigation records, interfering with counsel’s ability to defend their clients; normalized and expanded remote legal proceedings, allowing them at the discretion of prosecutors and judges without cause or fair trial guarantees; and placed limitations on the ability of journalists and civil society organizations to conduct proper trial monitoring. Although the draft law did set out to decrease the maximum caps on pretrial detention, the revised limits would fail to curb prosecutors’ powers to extend abusive pretrial detention without judicial oversight or to institute measures that would address the recurring practice of rotation which circumvents limits on pretrial detention periods by adding a defendant to multiple, near-identical cases, thus restarting the clock on pretrial detention indefinitely.

As the draft law made its way through parliament, it was widely critiqued by Egyptian and international civil society organizations, the Egyptian Lawyers’ and Journalists’ Syndicates, a large group of United Nations Special Procedures, and numerous other expert and policy voices around the world. Last May, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also issued a public statement calling on the Egyptian President to “to consider carefully the proposed Criminal Procedure Code in light of these concerns prior to granting any assent, in order to ensure that it fully complies with Egypt’s international human rights obligations.”

The Presidency’s statement highlights a number of the same concerns raised by independent voices over the last few months, including those on warrantless home searches, the restrictions on the rights of a defendant in interrogations and before courts, the need for alternatives to pretrial detention, and more generally, concerns around vague language present throughout the text that can be subject to discretionary interpretation.

As the draft text is returned to the Egyptian House of Representatives, we call on the House of Representatives to course correct by conducting a comprehensive re-write of the legislation that centers the due process rights of Egyptians, that respects Egypt’s international and domestic legal commitments, and that is informed by the guidance offered by UN experts. We ask that a wide-ranging consultation process that brings in a diverse group of Egyptian legal, judicial, and human rights practitioners and experts be held to meaningfully inform the process.

Noting that although the Presidency’s statement highlights a number of key concerns in the draft, the list of problematic provisions that it highlights is not exhaustive and, accordingly, a holistic reevaluation of the draft is necessary to ensure that any future version of the law meets all of Egypt’s commitments and obligations enshrined in both Egypt’s constitution as well as the international human rights treaties to which Egypt is bound.

Signatories

• Amnesty International
• Arab Reform Initiative
• Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression for Human Rights (AFTE)
• Committee for Justice (CFJ)
• Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms
• Egyptian Front for Human Rights
• Egyptian Human Rights Forum (EHRF)
• Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)
• Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
• Human Rights Watch
• HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement
• International Commission of Jurists
• Law and Democracy Support Foundation (LDSF)
• MENA Rights Group
• Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC)
• Najda For Human Rights
• REDWORD for Human Rights & Freedom of Expression
• Refugees Platform In Egypt (RPE)
• The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP)
• Their Right – To Defend Prisoners of Conscience

– on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Source: APO – Report:

“My people, cultivate healthy habits and mindsets. Engage in activities that bring joy and create a peaceful environment. Nurture yourselves with compassion and let go of what you cannot control.”

This was the powerful message from the State Minister of Information, Peter Ngojo, as communities in Malakal came together to commemorate the International Day of Peace.

His commitment to work “day and night” to restore peace resonated with the hundreds of people gathered at the local stadium at a time when communities across the region are suffering immense harm from persistent violence, including military confrontations between armed forces aligned with the main parties to the Revitalized Peace Agreement, with many losing their lives, homes and incomes.

“The cycle of violence has particularly victimized youth,” said Lunia James Okech, the Chairperson of the Youth Peace Ambassador’s Group. “We have been used and abandoned. Many of us are unemployed and that is contributing to instability. We need peace now.”

He urged the government and people of Upper Nile to work with the United Nations and other partners to restore calm and secure durable peace to enable recovery, development and economic growth.

The commemoration of this special event included cultural performances celebrating diversity and promoting unity. Youth were a particular focus as they performed dramas demonstrating the challenges they face and the opportunities they crave as well as sharing messages calling for reconciliation, the resolution of differences through dialogue, and concrete action to prevent conflict.

Another priority was to enable the full participation of youth and women in nation-building and preparations for the country’s first democratic elections.

“As an impartial partner for peace, the United Nations stands shoulder to shoulder with you, working to prevent and end violence, promoting human rights, providing lifesaving humanitarian assistance to millions in need, and laying the foundations for a peaceful and prosperous future,” said UNMISS representative, Paul Ebikwo.   

Despite the ongoing conflict, the proud and resilient people of this region are united and committed to the pursuit of peace so that they and future generations can enjoy the better future that they so richly deserve.

– on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

Source: APO

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“I was working in my garden when I heard loud gun shots. I rushed to pick up my three-month old baby who was sleeping under the tree and we ran for our lives.”

Twenty-four-year-old Betty explains how she fled her home in panic along with thousands of others during an incident involving the Ugandan People’s Defense Forces along the border with Kajo-Keji in South Sudan.

“I had no choice but to leave my other son and husband behind. I still don’t know where they are.”

Mother of five, Kiden Agnes, has a similar story after her village in Nyainga-Muda was subjected to shelling.

“I was in the hospital receiving antenatal care when I heard guns firing in the distance. People were running everywhere,” she recounts.

She joined those fleeing to Kajo-Keji town, leaving behind everything she owns. She now relies on the support of her 16-year-old son who collects water from a stream and sells it to customers in local restaurants. This meagre income allows them to buy enough food to survive.

Kiden has also not heard from her husband since the day she ran away, despite trying desperately to reach him by phone and through friends and family.

“I’ve even reported him missing to the local authorities and International Red Cross, but there is still no information about his whereabouts. We miss him terribly.”

These testimonies reflect the immense harm caused by outbreaks of violence in this region of South Sudan. These families, not only suffer from the trauma of the incident, but are physically torn apart from each other for long periods of time and forced to rebuild their already fragile lives each time violence strikes.

Dawa Dudu had only returned to her home in Bori village from the Bidi Bidi refugee camp in neighbouring Uganda three months prior to the outbreak of violence. After fleeing the village, she says there is no way she can go back.

“I’m totally confused. I have nowhere to go, and I feel I have no reason to be alive.”

Despite significant challenges, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan is doing its utmost to support the devastated communities, conducting regular peacekeeping patrols to deter violence and facilitate the safe delivery of the little aid that is available.  

“We are endeavoring to protect civilians and provide reassurance to the affected communities, particularly the 15,000 people who have been displaced,” says UNMISS Civil Affairs Officer, Lawson Mbetah.

“It’s critical that the violence stops and peace is restored so that people can return home to live safely, reconnect with family, and rebuild their lives.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

Source: APO

The official celebrations were nowhere near kicking off. The sun, mid-yawning, had barely finished its imaginary morning coffee ahead of a day’s worth of full-strength, shining work. That’s when the first revellers showed up.

Arriving from the Greater Pibor Administrative Area and neighbouring Jonglei State, a multiethnic crowd quickly turned what is usually a volleyball court into a bustling scene of dancing, banter and laughter.

They were all here, in flood-prone Pibor, in an area often rocked by intercommunal violence, to exclaim not only that peace is possible but also that it begins with every one of them, with you and with me, as the slogan of a nationwide campaign of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) affirms.

“Despite everything, we have come some way in this country. We want to use this opportunity to celebrate the progress we have made,” said women’s representative Akol Tut, indicating that the hundreds of people gathered, united in diversity, are the “we”.

While a collective endeavour, the responsibility for achieving it is inevitably as individual as the meaning of the word peace. When asked by one of the event organizers, attendees defined it as everything from “the foundation of gender equality” to “the possibility for development”.

As noted by many a high-ranking official speaking on the day, the youth of Greater Pibor and Jonglei, the numerically dominating here and now rather than the future of their country, have a key role to play to make any description of peace a reality.

“Them being here, together, is a reminder that they are the ones deciding the way forward for their country. Peace is built, or not, by our choices, their choices,” commented Khalif Farah, a Civil Affairs Officer serving with the peacekeeping mission.

Meanwhile, Gola Boyoi Gola, Administrator of the Greater Pibor Area, addressed a segment of the audience decidedly belonging to the “future” category.

“Twenty years ago, I was one of you, at an event like this one, learning about the meaning of peace. I am looking forward to seeing one of you in my position, and enjoying peace,” he told a few dozens of young girls and boys.

Like so many happy days before it, this one ended with the feeling of togetherness commonly generated by kicking a football.

Chances are that the friendly game between line-ups made up of local youth and vendors resulted in a practical demonstration of the more-often-than-not winning formula of working together as a team.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

Source: APO

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The United States’ recent expulsions of third-country nationals to Eswatini, Ghana, Rwanda, and South Sudan have exposed several hundred people to a risk of arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, and refoulement, Human Rights Watch said today.

The opaque deals that facilitate these transfers, at least some of which include US financial assistance, are part of a US policy approach that violates international human rights law and is designed to instrumentalize human suffering as a deterrent to migration. 

“These agreements make African governments partners in the Trump administration’s horrifying violations of immigrants’ human rights,” said Allan Ngari, Africa advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “The African governments implementing these deals risk violating international law, including the prohibitions against refoulement and arbitrary detention.”

In August 2025, a Rwandan government spokesperson, Yolande Makolo, reportedly said that the country had agreed to accept up to 250 deportees, a much larger number than has been reported for Eswatini or South Sudan, under an agreement, which Human Rights Watch has seen, that includes roughly $7.5 million in US financial support. 

Rwanda’s past role in similar arrangements with Israel, its now-abandoned negotiations for a comparable deal with the United Kingdom, and its own well-documented record of repression raise serious doubts about whether it will provide effective protection for the affected people. 

Human Rights Watch has viewed the written agreement between the United States and Eswatini, under which the US will provide $5.1 million to “build [Eswatini’s] border and migration management capacity” and Eswatini will accept up to 160 deportees from the US. So far, Eswatini has received at least five people from Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, Vietnam, and Yemen and is reportedly holding them in the Matsapha Correctional Complex under harsh conditions. An Eswatini official told Human Rights Watch that the country is preparing to receive another 150 people. Lawyers and civil society groups have challenged the legality of detaining these people.

South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation confirmed on September 4 that it was holding seven foreign nationals deported from the United States in July, while an eighth person, a South Sudanese national, was released to his family. A government spokesperson said that their status is still under consideration. On September 6, the authorities formally announced the repatriation of one Mexican national to Mexico but did not clarify where the remaining six men are being held and under what conditions, nor did it explain the legal basis for holding them.  

The South Sudanese authorities’ statements underscore the lack of transparency and due process protections surrounding these transfers, Human Rights Watch said. 

In Uganda, the Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed in a statement that a temporary bilateral cooperation agreement has been reached with the United States. Under its terms, Uganda will receive third-country deportees from the United States, but “individual[s] with criminal records and unaccompanied minors will not be accepted” and preference will be given to individuals of African origin. 

Ghanaian president John Mahama confirmed that his government has agreed to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from the United States. This agreement is limited to West African nationals. So far, five citizens of Nigeria and The Gambia have been expelled to Ghana under the agreement. Prior to their expulsion, US immigration judges had granted all of them fear-based immigration relief, either withholding their removal under the US Immigration and Naturality Act or deferring their removal under the Convention against Torture. 

One of the five, a bisexual man from The Gambia, said in a sworn declaration filed in US federal court that Ghanaian authorities had returned him to his country of origin after their expulsion by the United States. This case underscores the danger that expulsion agreements will lead to the return of people to countries where US courts had determined they face a serious risk of persecution or torture.  

Given the abusive US immigration policies that underpin them, Human Rights Watch urges African governments to refuse to enter into agreements to accept third-country deportees from the United States and to terminate those that are already in effect. In the interim, countries that are party to such agreements should disclose their terms, allow access to independent monitors, refrain from detaining any deportees absent a clear legal basis, and ensure that no deportee is returned to their home country if there is credible evidence that they would face the risk of persecution, enforced disappearance, torture, or other serious harm. 

“As the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights special rapporteur on refugees has said, these agreements cannot override governments’ human rights obligations,” Ngari said. “The African Union should reiterate that deportations that do not afford people an opportunity to seek protection from persecution or torture are unlawful, abusive and unacceptable.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).